The Crazy Tyrant Wants To Kill Me(EDITING)

23 - Theo Lives In The Palace

My eyes snapped open and the first thing I felt was a throbbing pain in my skull and back. I squeezed my eyes shut instantly and allowed my nails to dig into my palm.

After a few moments, the pain finally faded away. I unclenched my fists and opened my eyes. My palms were stinging. 

So.. what happened? I remember bumping my head on something and then passing out, and then having a weird dream. But the dream feels extra weird, almost like a flashback.

I touched my head and was not surprised to find a bandage wrapped around my head.

What a strange dream I had. It was like the one I had before waking up from a coma. Wait, maybe the dream is trying to tell me something. I nibbled my thumb. Does Cedric actually have a stepbrother called Theo?

He does. I remember Jessica telling me Julia ran away with Theo(because they fell in love), so that means Theo does exists. 

But is it true that Theo lives in a locked room? A room where no one is allowed to enter? . 

"Zzzz..." I flinched when I heard someone snoring softly. 

"Eh?" I turned my head to see Joe sitting on a chair, asleep. 

I didn't even notice Joe was here. Wait, I could ask Joe if there's actually a locked room and where it is. 

I inched closer to Joe and elbowed him. Hard.

Joe's eyes snapped open and his eyes were filled with worry and panic as he looked around. "Huh? Huh? What's going on? Is Julia The Empress okay? Will I be scolded again?"

"Joe?" I asked.

Joe stared at me.

Has he gone crazy? I blinked at him and he blinked back.

"Oh, Your Highness The Empress! I-uh, sorry about that," he said sheepishly, but also very alert(probably doesn't want me to run away again). "I just had a strange dream."

"Okay." I leaned back in my bed, but carefully. I didn't want to cause pain in my back, especially since Doc Cruz didn't give my injuries any treatment. "I have a question."

Joe turned pale and he pressed his mouth into a straight line. The words I will be very careful about what I say so I don't cause Julia to run away again was clearly written on his face. "Y-yes?" 

I cleared my throat. "Does Cedric's stepbrother, Theo, live in the palace?"

Joe turned even paler. "Uh, your highness," he said, his voice shaking, "I'm not supposed to talk about Cedric's stepbrother. No one is. This is a royal order. Whoever does will be punished deeply."

Oh great! Now I can never know if Theo lives here. I sighed deeply. This is certainly no help to me. I guess I will have to investigate myself.

Just as I was about to give up, an idea popped inside of my head: I could try another way to ask. Yes, I should do that!

I took a deep breath and secretly crossed my fingers. Here goes nothing.

"Joe," I said, "am I allowed to go into every room in the palace?" I twirled a lock of my hair and started to hum: "La la la." Then I looked away.

"...!" Joe looked startled. "No, your highness! You may not go to the room that is right next to the emperor(Cedric)'s!" 

"Why?" I said, trying to keep calm. My excitement was rising.

"Because.. well... the emperor, Cedric's stepbrother lives in there," Joe said quickly and shut his mouth instantly after finishing the sentence.

Ah ha! I snapped my fingers. I got the information I need. "Thank you." Wait, am I going to drop by Theo's room? What's my plan? And when?

Well... I could sneak out if I have a chance and visit Theo's room. I have so many questions, like why won't Cedric accept him. I also want to tell him about my weird dream.

Just then I heard plenty of noise and chatter coming out from behind Julia's chamber door. 

"Huh, why is it so noisy in the hallway?" 

"Oh," Joe said, the color returning to his face, "war is about to take place in our empire, so all the maids are packing to leave. They are going to stay at another empire until the war is over."

"Oh..."

"Everyone will be leaving except the emperor and the soldiers, including me," Joe said.

What?! What if Joe and Logan died in war?

"All the citizens in our empire are leaving as well for another empire, too," Joe said. "And you are going to pack and leave, too. You should start. Unfortunately the maids can't help you. It's not that the maids don't want to help you pack, it's that they are busy packing their own stuff."

"Wait, stop stop," I said. "I'm also leaving?" I pointed to myself, eyes wide.

Joe nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. You can't fight like us."

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that. I thought that I would be staying.

"Your Highness, are you going to start packing?" Joe asked politely. "I suggest you start packing now. After all, you have a lot of stuff." He gestured towards the walk-in closet, a table that was filled with makeup and skin-care products, Julia's jewelry box, and more.

"Okay..." I said. Slowly, I stepped off the bed and grabbed a nearby suitcase. I walked into the walk-in closet and grabbed a few skirts, folding them before placing them in the suitcase.

I continued repeating these steps with Joe staring at me, which made me uncomfortable. Why did he have to keep staring at me and watch my every move?

***

My arms were aching, my legs were screaming for me to stop and my stomach was growling. It was already nightfall and the sun was nowhere to be seen in the sky. 

I had packed my/Julia's things for the whole afternoon, all the way until nightfall.

Joe had left the room to get us supper...but he did lock the door...

I looked up at the vent. It's not a good idea to run away, as I don't know the way out of the empire, so I can't escape when Doom Empire attacks. And even if I wanted to leave the estate, I can't. Joe had inserted screws onto the air vent so I couldn't open the vent.

I sighed and sat down on the floor. My hunger was taking over. I was so hungry that I couldn't focus on packing. I rubbed my stomach.

I looked around the room. There were still so many things I haven't finished packing.

I sighed again. My stomach rumbled. Why hasn't Joe returned yet?